APWU Tentative Guidelines For Effective Dates of New Contract
The new APWU and USPS collective bargaining agreement will be signed on Monday, May 23rd. Below is a timeline of effective dates (subject to change).
Also “The APWU Industrial Relations Department has produced a Guide to Local Negotiations that contains a wealth of information to assist locals in bargaining over Local Memorandums of Understanding (LMOUs) under the 2010-2015 National Agreement.
The special edition of the Collective Bargaining Report (CBR) will be mailed to every local and state organization as soon as it is printed (approximately a week to 10 days).” Read more
APWU Ratification Vote Count Underway – Yes Vote Leading By Wide Margin
From the American Postal Workers Union:
Ratification Vote Count Underway
(05/11/11) The counting of ballots in the ratification vote on the 2010-2015 Collective Bargaining Agreement has begun. As of 12:45 p.m., the numbers stand at 69,451 “yes” votes, and 22,351 “no” votes.. There has not been an update since 12:45 p.m.? The numbers will be updated periodically as they become available. The final vote count will be posted at www.apwu.org.
source: APWU
Burrus: APWU Tentative Contract Analysis
My disagreements with the tentative agreement have been chronicled on this site and repeated on occasion by others. The source of my criticisms have been centered on the severe reduction of pay for new employees without providing them a voice; the significant increase in non-career employees who will be fully integrated in the work force and regressive modification of the 40 hour work week. While others have the right to disagree with my conclusions, these are in contributable facts.
I also find serious fault with the wording of the document. A labor contract is a permanent recording of the agreement governing wages, benefits, hours and conditions of employment and its construction should be exact in its composition. It will be reviewed and interpreted for years to come by individuals and legal entities that have no independent knowledge of postal affairs so it is improper to record shop floor phrases or imprecise wording in the final draft of the national agreement. In the achievement of this objective, this document fails miserably. Read more
APWU: Additional Q & A About the Tentative Agreement
Questions have been posed on the APWU’s Facebook page about the Tentative Agreement for a new contract. Below, union officers address some recent questions.
Question: Could new Non-Traditional Full-Time jobs be scheduled six days a week?
Answer: Clerk Craft NTFT assignments could be created as six-day assignments where necessary to create a desirable duty assignment for employees to bid (for example, at a small Post Office that is open six days per week). This type of schedule would not be permitted in a mail processing operation or in any installation that has 200 man-years or more of employment.*
The local union would have the opportunity to work with local management to assure that full-time assignments are maximized while at the same time protecting the desirability of the assignments which are posted.
No current Full-Time Regular employee can ever be involuntarily assigned to a posted duty assignment of six work days.
*Whether a facility qualifies as a 200 man-year office is determined by adding all paid hours for USPS career employees in crafts represented by the APWU, the National Association of Letter Carriers, and the National Postal Mail Handlers Union, and dividing by 2,080. If the result is 200 or more, the office qualifies as a 200 man-year office. The measure is based on the 12-months preceding the beginning of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. The determination remains in effect throughout the life of the agreement. Paid hours include work hours, overtime, and leave hours.
Question: Are there any changes pertaining to janitorial or custodial Part-Time Regulars being converted to Full-Time Regulars? If so, when will this happen?
Answer: There were no changes involving PTR custodians becoming FTR or vice-versa
source: APWU
Burrus: Agreement is Not Fair
As you are aware, I have expressed my opinion that the tentative agreement is not fair to employees who will be hired in the future because it dramatically reduces their income and they are denied an opportunity to make a decision if the contractual changes are of equal value to the more than $200,000 in wage and retirement losses that they will each experience. Notwithstanding my reservations, I expect the agreement to be ratified and I choose not to express an opinion of the reasons. Each member casting a ballot is entitled to apply his/her individual decision and I do not pass judgment on their reasons. As a retiree, I will not personally be affected by the new agreement and those that will follow but it is my firm opinion that this contract will begin a new era of postal employment in the crafts represented by APWU.
The agreement will permanently reduce the wages of APWU represented employees to a level in existence prior to the 1971 Postal Reorganization Act when collective bargaining was afforded postal employees. The standard for the work performed by clerks, lower level maintenance and motor vehicle employees will be reduced to the new levels established in this agreement. As current employees leave postal employment, the compensation level for work performed will be set at the lowest level applicable. Postal management will refuse to pay $28.00 per hour for work that the union has agreed can be performed by the 2nd tier work force at $16.00 for new hires and at $12.00 per hour by casuals who have been integrated into the regular work force.
In addition, the 40 hour guaranteed work week will not automatically apply to all full time employees and over time, fewer and fewer employees will enjoy the standard work week that has been integral to postal employment.
Keep Our Standards
Over my entire career as a union representative, I have not experienced a union converting employment from middle class to working poor with the objective of expanding the bargaining unit. The cry of “we want our work” is consistent with APWU goals, only if the work can be returned at APWU standards as opposed to reducing our standards to the level of the outsourced work.
Organizing the unorganized is a continuing objective of the labor movement but it is contrary to the basic principle of union collective bargaining for a union to exchange full time, good paying opportunities for wages and careers resembling retail and fast food employers.
40 Years of Progress
There are examples in the food and banking industries where jobs have been transformed from modest income and benefits when unionized, to transitional employment for new entrants in the labor market. But postal employment, through aggressive union representation broke through the barriers of “service” employment and set new standards. This agreement will erase 40 years of progress.
Race to The Bottom
Optimistic projections that this bad agreement will be used as a springboard for future corrections is optimistic at best and a foolish promise. Militant statements of future corrections will meet the reality of the marketplace. The entire trend in workplace justice is downward pressure on non professional employment as being played out in Wisconsin, Ohio and several other states where collective bargaining rights are under attack. To believe that a conservative Congress or the Board of Governors will permit contractual improvements equal to the losses embedded in this contract is a pipe dream and will never happen. These major concessions will serve as a springboard in a race to the bottom.
APWU members can expect a series of future national conventions attended by a mixture of members governed by three distinct wage scales where delegates demand the unification of all rights and benefits at the higher level. Resolutions will be overwhelmingly adopted directing the negotiators to achieve that which will not be possible at the bargaining table leading to a series of interest arbitration decisions. No relief will be forthcoming. Postal management having achieved their 40 year priority to reduce wages will not relent to an agreement that restores lost ground. Arbitration will become the norm.
In the five (5) prior contracts decided by arbitrators, each decided that APWU represented employees compensation exceeded the legal standard of comparability and awarded the Postal Service moderate restraint. The union has now agreed to voluntary restraint and future arbitrators will not serve as vehicles to return to previous conditions that had been consistently found to be excessive.
This For That
This agreement is in fact “out of the box” and will usher in a new day for postal employees. The strategy applied was to exchange the wages of future employees for immediate contractual improvements, “this for that.” In addition to the unfairness of denying the affected employees a voice in the debate over the changes, this strategy has limited continuing applicability for future gains. What is to be traded in future negotiations, COLA – No Lay Off – Health Benefits? And how does the union make improvements if every step forward is balanced against a step backward?
Change
We have been provided a preview of tomorrow and it has no semblance to yesterday. The security of full time employment, middle class wages and the satisfaction of knowing that you are compensated for the work performed will cycle with history to be recalled in interesting discussions. Change is inevitable, but this change is self-induced and it will be negative.
In solidarity,
Bill Burrus
source: Burrus Journal
Burrus Editorial: It’s All About Me
To APWU Members
I have written a number of opinion letters criticizing the tentative agreement; however, while forcefully advancing my position I realize that there is a countervailing position as expressed in the hypothetical letter below reflecting the sentiment of many APWU members.
Dear Mr. Burrus:
I have read your opinion regarding the tentative agreement and with all due respect to your service and experience as a union representative, I strongly disagree.
I was apprehensive about the outcome of the 2010 national negotiations during a period of economic uncertainties in our country and in the Postal Service. The unemployment rate continues at an uncomfortable level and by all reports the Postal Service is approaching bankruptcy putting my employment in serious jeopardy. While I have complaints about several aspects of my job, it does provide me the income necessary to maintain my standard of living and the uncertainties of arbitration would threaten my economic security; I really wouldn’t like that.
When I learned that a negotiated agreement had been agreed to that does not drastically reduce my income; that continues to provide health insurance with a modest increase in my premium, and that the new provisions will not directly threaten my ‘job security’ I breathed a sigh of relief. As added benefits, the tentative agreement eliminates mandatory overtime and limits excessing to a reasonable commuting distance as well as returns contract jobs to the Postal Service. Other features that I do not fully understand will not affect me personally but will not hurt me either.
The initiation of a two tier wage schedule and the increase of non-career employees are negatives but they will not directly apply to me and I will even receive modest pay raises.
The increase in casuals (I don’t care what you call them) is troublesome, but if that is the only price that I have to pay I will swallow it. If someone has to perform the same work for $12 per hour, that’s their problem.
When I was informed that employees hired under this contract would receive over $200,000 less for performing the same work I was disappointed, but those new employees can speak for themselves and those who accept postal employment will know in advance the wage scale that will apply; they will be free to seek employment elsewhere. I hear that McDonalds is adding 50,000 new positions so that will be an alternative if postal wages are not acceptable.
I know that this is selfish on my part because I inherited the advances made by the postal generations that preceded me. I appreciate the struggles of those who jeopardized their careers by participating in the strike and those who were responsible for rejecting the tentative agreement in 1978 that would have capped the COLA and reduced my income dramatically over my career. I appreciate all of the contracts negotiated since I was hired that advanced my rights and increased my income.
I am thankful for the 2007 upgrades Mr. Burrus and the fact that you protected the income of those who have been hired after each of the contracts that you negotiated because if you had agreed to a two tier salary before I was hired it would have affected me and when all is said and done, it is about “me.”
Mr. Burrus, if you or Mr. Biller, the only two presidents that negotiated contracts during my career had reduced postal wages at any time before or during my employment it is possible that I would not have accepted or continued postal employment, but I cannot live in a world of “what if’s.” You did what you had to do and now it’s my turn. In this decision, I have to look out for myself. I am appreciative that I am being provided the opportunity to vote and my vote is “Yes.”
And if my vote makes a difference, I will admit that I was partially responsible for reducing the pay of future postal employees up to 24% and reducing full time jobs to 30 hours a week and still call them full time, but times are difficult and in this instance it’s them or me and I chose the latter. Isn’t that what a union is all about?
Sincerely,
APWU Member
APWU Didn’t Just Think Outside Of Box To Reach Tentative Agreement
we broke down the sides of the box to reach an agreement that benefits both parties.
The Tentative Agreement and the Clerk Craft:
Safeguarding Jobs,Creating New Opportunities
Many provisions of the APWU’s tentative agreement with the postal Service directly affect the Clerk Craft. Highlights of the entire agreement can be found on pages 6-9, but several Clerk Craft items deserve additional attention.
Automation and declining mail volume have had a dramatic impact on the craft, and we continue to lose jobs. Therefore, throughout negotiations, our top priority was to safeguard existing jobs and create new positions. Read more
Massive Losses for APWU in Tentative Agreement
In order to understand the massive losses that the new contract will bring if ratified, I have provided a comparison of the current agreement with the proposed agreement. Clint Burelson, President Olympia [Washington] Local APWU Read more
More Non-Traditional Full-Time Jobs Q & A On APWU Tentative Agreement
“Here are a few more questions and answers [on Non-Tradtional Full-Time jobs] that I think the membership should be aware of before they vote on the proposed contract. I believe that if all Clerk Craft employees were aware of the details and impact of the NTFT jobs, they would unanimously reject this contract” – By Clint Burelson, APWU President of the Olympia Washington Local
Many employees are concerned as to how the NTFT jobs will affect current workers. The first set of questions and answers showed:
1) Any clerk craft employee can have their bid job taken away and converted to NTFT (implied throughout and on page 190 of corrected tentative agreement)
2) Up to 50% of current workers holding bids in mail processing could have their jobs taken away and converted to NTFT jobs. (page 189 of corrected tentative agreement)
3) Up to 100% of workers holding bids in station/retail bids could have their jobs taken away and converted to NTFT jobs. (page 189 of corrected tentative agreement)
Here are some more common questions and answers regarding the impact of NTFT jobs on current workers.
Question: If my job is taken away from and converted to a NTFT assignment, I heard that I could be assigned a NTFT job that has a schedule of Sunday and Tuesday off, work 6 hours on Monday, 6 hours on Wednesday, 8 hours on Thursday, 10 hours on Friday, and 10 hours on Saturday. Is this true?
Answer: Yes. However, in terms of days off, although the provision below does not actually require it, you may be able to keep consecutive days off. There are many unanswered questions at this point. The relevant provision that allows the Postal Service to assign to you this erratic schedule states:
“No Clerk or MVS employee who at the signing of this Agreement, has a full-time regular work schedule of 40 hours a week will be involuntarily reassigned to occupy a NTFT duty assignment of less than 40 hours a week. However, such employees may be reassigned to occupy a NTFT duty assignments of 40-44 hours a week, so long as those assignments have at least two (2) scheduled off days, with no scheduled work days of less than six (6) hours or more than ten (10) hours.” (page 188 of corrected tentative agreement)
Question: I am a full-time worker on the ODL. If I am involuntarily assigned the NTFT job above that is scheduled for 10 hours for two of the days, will I get paid overtime for the two hours that are over 8 each day?
Answer: No. The new contract gives up some key overtime rights. If your regular schedule is for 10 hours in a day, you do not receive overtime for that day unless you work over 10 hours. If ratified by the membership, the contract will state:
“If these employee’s normal schedule is longer than eight (8) hours on any day, they will receive postal overtime only when they exceed their normal schedule for that day. (For example, an employee’s normal schedule is ten (10) hours on a given day but the employee works eleven (11) hours on that day. Only the last hour would be subject to postal overtime.)” (page 191 of corrected tentative agreement)
Question: I am a full-time worker on the ODL. If I bid on a job that is scheduled for 6 days a week and 6 hours a day, will I get built in overtime every week for working 6 days?
Answer: No. As stated earlier, the new contract gives up important overtime protections. If your scheduled assignment is for 6 days of work and the total scheduled hours for the week is less than 40, you will get no overtime for working your schedule of 6 days a week. This is implied in general, but addressed most directly below:
“These NTFT employees will normally work the number of hours (daily and/or weekly) identified in their bid assignment, except in an emergency. These employees are entitled to out of schedule premium for hours worked outside their normal schedule.” (page 190 of corrected tentative agreement)
Question: I am concerned that management will convert the senior employee in my section to an NTFT job. Does that mean that my job will get reposted too?
Answer: Yes. You and everyone else in the same section as the senior employee whose job is converted to NTFT will have their duty assignments reposted for in-section bidding. Existing in-section bidding rules would then apply. If the membership ratifies the contract, the following rule will apply:
“When an occupied traditional clerk FTR duty assignment is reposted as a nontraditional full-time assignment, all duty assignments in that section or station/branch currently occupied by employees junior to the incumbent in that assignment will also be reposted for in-section bidding.” (page 190 of corrected tentative agreement)
Question: How do you know what the section is for in-section bidding?
Answer: The section is defined at the local level. Look at Item 18 of your Local Memorandum of Understanding (LMOU) for that answer, which will be very important if this contract passes. The current Article 30, which will not change, describes Item 18 as:
“The identification of assignments comprising a section, when it is proposed to reassign within an installation employees excess to the needs of a section.” (page 144 of current CBA)
Question: I understand that the proposed contract allows for 50% NTFT clerk jobs in mail processing and 100% at the stations. However, NTFT jobs are very similar to part-time regular jobs. I thought we had lower limits on the amount of part-time regular jobs in the Post Office?
Answer: You are correct. The current contract limits part-time regulars to “2.5% of the career employees covered by this agreement.” (page 24 of current CBA). However, if the proposed new contract is ratified, the percentage of part-time regular/NTFT jobs could increase dramatically to 50% in mail processing and possibly 100% in the stations for the Clerk Craft alone. MVS will increase up to 10%.
Please correct me if any information above is inaccurate. Everyone should fully understand the changes in the new contract before voting for their future and the future of others.
Knoxville Tenn. MVS Director’s Follow-Up Video On Tentative Agreement
Knoxville, Tennessee APWU MVS Director’s Follow up video “on the tentative agreement we are voting on and what I believe the impact could be to not only the MVS craft but the Postal Service as a whole.”